In Others’ Words: When God Shows Up

How has God showed up for you?

Last night Jerri Marr spoke at the church my family attends. Who is Jerri Marr, you ask? She’s a 26-year veteran of the U.S. Forest Service and more importantly to thousands of people in Colorado Springs this past summer, Jerri was the voice of calm and hope during the Waldo Canyon Fire.

She talked briefly about the fire, even more briefly about herself — although I know there’s a story worth hearing there. What Jerri wanted to talk about was the God she believes in: who He is, how He’s worked in her life — and how He wants to work in each of our lives.

Jerri Marr is a hope-filled woman.

She doesn’t view the world through rose-colored glasses. Her job won’t allow for that. But she does walk life out with faith. After listening to her last night, I’ve figured out why she was the voice of calm and hope whenever she stepped behind the microphone during a Waldo Canyon Fire press briefing. She wasn’t there in her own strength, relying on her own abilities to make everything okay. Her hope and confidence was in God. I liked how she said it last night: “With God on our side, how can we lose?” (Romans 8:31)

Jerri reminded me that God is for me. God has never lost sight of me during the toughest of the tough days I’ve walked through. He has shown up for me repeatedly — offering me strength, offering me grace, offering me that unbelievable peace that makes no sense at all in light of what I was facing.

In Your Words: I’ll ask you the same question Jerri Marr asked us last night: How has God showed up for you?